Vesak is a relatively new tradition that unites all traditions of Buddhism in the celebration of the birth, awakening and death of the Buddha.
A member and president of the Theosophical Society, Henry Steel Olcott, was invited by Buddhist monks in 1880 to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) and formally initiated into Buddhism. With this declaration, he began working with native Buddhist monks, philosophers and intellectuals like Angarika Dharmapala on reviving the tradition in Sri Lanka. With the British occupation, only Christian holidays were recognized and children in missionary schools were punished for adhering to their traditional holidays. Sound familiar?
What ensued was some combination of divine inspiration and absolutely brilliant PR. The many sects of Buddhism needed uniting, and this was done through various conventions, writings that reflected Christian-esque formats, the design of a Buddhist flag and the declaration of the national holiday, Vesak. There’s not much to say other than: major new beginnings, deep purification, and these words of wisdom from the legend himself as translated by Bhante Sujato in the video below.
“conditions deteriorate
strive on with diligence”
~
If you have time, watch this instead of whatever you were going to distract yourself with :)
Happy Vesak Hawa ❣️